Receptacle cleaning machine



May 12, 1942. s. R. HowARb RECEPTACLEf CLEANING MACHINE Filed 001;. 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l Qm N v INVENTOR II I May 12, 1942;

s. R. HOWARD REGEPTACLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 193'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR May 12, 1942. s. R. HOWARD 2,232,474,

RECEPTACLE CLEANING MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INYENTOR BY I clwqwm ATTOREY May 12, 1942. s. R. HOWARD RECEPIACLE CLEANING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 6, 1937 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 12, 1942 RECEPTACLE CLEANING MACHINE,

Stanley R. Howard, Milton, Mass., assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited, Quincy, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 6, 1937, Serial No. 167,571

13 Claims.

This invention relates to a receptacle cleaning machine and more particularly to a bottle cleaning machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved receptacle cleaning machine adapted to clean receptacles in a superior and bodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a front elei vation of the receptacle cleaning machine; Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are details in front elevation and cross section respectively of an air valve to be referred to, the section being taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail of a cam to be referred to; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1 viewed from the right and illustrating the driving mechanism; Fig. '7 is a cross sectional detail of the receptacle cleaning device; Fig. 8 is a detail of the cam shaft; Fig. 9 is'a plan view of the conveyor and associated mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a cross section on the line Ill-l0 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the safety device, to be referred to; Fig. 12 is a cross section on the line l2-l2 of Fig. 9; Fig. 13 is a sectional plan view illustrating a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 12, taken on the line l3-!3 of Fig. 12; Figs. 14 and 15 are en-d views of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 9, as viewed from lines I l-I4 and l5-l5 respectively; Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken on the line l6lfi of Fig. 9; and Fig. 17 is a wiring diagram to be referred to.

In general. the present invention contemplates a machine for cleaning receptacles in which provision is made for first inverting the receptacles to be cleaned and thereafter introducing a stream of air into the receptacles to remove any small or foreign particles therefrom. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, which as above stated is adapted for cleaning bottles, provision is made for automatically releasing a plurality r of bottles, standing upright on a conveyor, to a position within a pocket formed by guide rails which are arranged to be rocked to transfer the bottles around a stationary drum to an inverted position beneath the drum and in alignment with a series of air nozzles. In the preferred form, the machine is provided with two pockets spaced degrees apart so that while one set of bottles is being cleaned the previously cleaned set of bottles may be removed and a new set of bottles to be cleaned may be released for the next cycle of operation. While the bottles are in their inverted position provision is made for raising the air nozzles to extend within the bottles and for causing a stream of air to flow into the bottles to remove any foreign particles therefrom. Thereafter the air nozzles are withdrawn and the cleaned bottles are rotated 180 degrees to again rest on the conveyor while a new set of bottles is being transferred'into position to be cleaned.

Referring now to the drawings, in the illustrated machine a supply of bottles to be cleaned is fed into the machine on an'incoming conveyor l0. Provision is made for controlling the feed of the bottles into the machine and, as herein shown, the line of bottles is permitted to ad- Vance up to a stop member l2. During the operation of the machine, when the stop I2 is automatically withdrawn to release a new set' of bottles in the machine, as will be described, a second stop It is operated to hold back the main supply of bottles on the conveyor and to permit thereleased bottles to advance into the machine within a pocket l5 formed by guide rails l5, I8 and up against a third stop 21]. This final stop holds the bottlesin alignment with rotary guide rails 22, 24 supported upon a stationary drum 26 by angle pieces 25 and studs 21. The stops I2, 20 operate simultanously, as will be described, so that as one set of cleaned bottles is being conveyed out of the machine, the new set of bottles to be cleaned is being advanced into position to be inverted and cleaned.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, the bottles to be inverted and cleaned are stationed on the conveyor l0 within the pocket IS in which the bottles are retained during the inverting and cleaning operation. As illustrated herein, the guide rails l6, 18 are secured to a cross bar 28 extending between rocker arms 30. 32. mounted upon rocking members 34 which are secured to a rocker shaft 35. The shaft 36 is su ported in bearings 38, M1 in the machine frame and'is arranged to be alternately rocked 180 degrees clockwise and 180 degrees counterclockwise in timed relation to the operation of the cleaning and bottle releasing mechanisms. As herein shown. see Figs. 1 and 6, the shaft 36 is rocked through mechanism including a gear 42, secured to the endof the shaft 36, which meshes with a segment 44 provided on a rocker arm 45 which is operated by a cam 46 mounted on the main cam shaft 48. The cam 46 is formed integrally with a gear 50 which is driven by a pinion 52 mounted on a driving shaft 54. The driving shaft 54 is driven in any usual or preferred manner as by a motor, not shown, belted to a pulley 56 secured to the driving shaft 54. The rocker arm 45 is pivoted on a short stud 57 and is provided with a cam roll 58 which cooperates with the path of the cam 45. As will be seen from inspection of Figs. 1 and 6, the conveyor I9 extends through the machine and through the stationary drum 26 and, as herein shown, the

drum is supported upon side rails 60, 62 of the.

It will also be noted that a cut-out conveyor. 64 is provided in the gear 42 to permit the gear to be rocked without interfering with the con veyor belt.

As the bottles are rotated they are permitted to fall between the guide rails I6, I8 so that when they arrive in the inverted position the mouths of the bottles rest in tapered holes 66 out in the cross bar 28 and the bottles are supported in the tapered holes in alignment with cleaning. nozzles I during the cleaning operation. The cleaning nozzles II! are supported in brackets I2 which are adjustably clamped to a supporting bar I4 exill tending across the front of the machine. The

The reciprocating connections include a collar 86 secured to the vertical rods I8 with which yoke levers 88 are arranged to engage. The yoke levers 88 are secured to a rocker shaft 9!! which is rocked by the cam 84- cooperating with a roll 92,

mounted upon a lever 94 also secured to the shaft 90. A spring 98 servesto hold the roll 92 against its cam 84. Through the connections described, the air nozzles 10' are raised from the position shown in Fig. 6 up to a position shown in Fig. 2.

During the operation of the machine when the air nozzles I0 have been inserted into the inverted bottles, asshown in Fig. 2, provision is made for releasing a stream ofair into the bottles and for this purpose a valve I-Ilflis provided, see Figs. 3 and 4, connected to a source of compressed air (not shown). ahousing I02 provided with; an inlet I04 and a capmember I66 provided with anoutlet I58. A rotary disk IIO yieldably pressed against the cap member I96 by a spring- II2 is provided with an opening II4 and the rotary disk is arranged to be rocked to position the opening in alignment with the outlet IIIS- when the bottle' is to be cleaned, and to rock the opening away from the outlet when the cleaning nozzle is withdrawn. The rotary disk isarranged to be rocked by a cam I I6 mounted on. the cam shaft 48 through cooperation with a cam roll. II B provided on a lever I20 which is pivoted on a cross shaft I22. A connecting rod- I24 connectsv the lever I26 to a lever I26 keyed to a rocker shaft I28 which is journaled in the cap member I66 and is connected tothe rotary disk III] by a tongue and groove connection I30 as illustrated. Each cleaning nozzle Ill is connectedto the valve I65 through a manifold I32 by a flexible hose I34 and an adapter I35. The manifold I32- is connected to the outlet I08 of the valve I55 by a flexible hose I 3.5. A spring I38 normally holds the'valve in its inoperative position. The discharge of air into the bottle causes the foreign The valve comprises .gear I52 upon rotation of the handle I54.

particles to be blown out downwardly and outwardly into a dust pan I I!) supported beneath the cleaning mechanism. Any usual or preferred means may be employed for removing the accumulated dust in the dust pan I40, such as by connections to a dust bag, not shown, or the dust may be removed through a door I II provided in the side of the pan.

Provision is made for manually adjusting the position of the dust pan I and the cleaning mechanism to accommodate different heights of bottles and, as herein shown, the dust pan is supported in bearings I 55, I 38 secured to the machine frame. One of the supporting rods I42 is provided at it upper end with a bevel gear I55, which is arranged to be rotated by a bevel The vertical rods I42, I53, are connected together at their lower ends by a chain I56 which runs over sprockets I58, I secured to the lower ends of the Vertical rods. The supporting bar 74 carried by the reciprocating rods I5, see Fig. 2, is arranged to be adjusted through provision of sprockets I52, I connected by a chain I65, each reciprocating rod I8 being connected to its respective vertical rod I 52 or I53. A bushing I 58 provided in each upper bearing for the movable rod I8 is arranged to permit rotation of the bushing and the Vertical rods I8 to thereby change the position of the cleaning mechanism through cooperation of the screw threads I9 with the bracket 76, and at the same time permit the rods I8 to be vertically reciprocated.

As shown in detail in Fig. 7, each cleaning nozzle 7 9 is supported in a bracket I2 which is clamped to the supporting bar by a cap 73. The cleaning nozzle is preferably secured in the bracket I2 by a spring pressed friction plug I75 so that in the event that any obstruction to the entrance of the nozzle into the bottle is encountered, the nozzle will be permitted to slide through the hole in the bracket and breakage of the nozzle will thus be prevented.

As hereinbefore stated, the stop members I2,

' I I and 20 are arranged to automatically control the release of the bottles into and out of the pockets I5 and, as herein shown, the stop members I2, 20 are operated simultaneously from a common cam III). The cam IIc' mounted on the cam shaft 18 cooperates with a cam lever I72 secured to a rocker shaft I'M and provided with a cam roller I75. The stop member 20 is secured to a short shaft I78 which is mounted in a bearing I secured to the side rail 62. The short shaft I78 is provided with a lever I82 which is connected by a rod I 84 to a lever I86 secured to the rocker shaft I'M. A spring I88 connected to the lever I86 tends to hold the roller I75 against its cam I75. The rocker shaft I74 supported in bearings I95, I92 in the machine frame is provided with a second lever I64 fixed at its outer end, which is connected to the stop member I2, by a rod I96 and a lever I98 secured to a short shaft 206 upon which the stop member I2 is also secured. Because the stop member 26 is flush with the rotary guide rail 24, a cutout 25 is provided in the guide rail to permit movement of the stop member out of the path of the bottles. A second cam 262 secured at the outer end of the cam shaft 48 is arranged to operate the stop member I I through connections including a bell crank loosely mounted upon the rocker shaft I74, one arm 263 of which is provided witha cam roll 2M cooperating with the cam 262. The second arm 206 of the bell crank is connected by a rod 208 to a lever 2H3 secured to a rocker shaft 2H2 upon which the stop member 14 is secured.

As herein illustrated, provision is made for continuously driving the conveyor belt in during the operation of the machine. sprocket 220 secured to the driving shaft 54 of the machine is connected to a sprocket 222 by a chain 225. The sprocket 222 is fast on one end of an intermediate shaft 224, supported longitudinally of the conveyor, in bearings 226. The other end of the shaft 224 is provided with a bevel gear 228 which meshes with a bevel gear 23%, fast on the conveyor pulley shaft 232. Thus the conveyor belt is driven continuously to advance the bottles along the conveyor, and the feed of the bottles is controlled by the stops I2, 20 and M as above described.

It will be noted that two sets of bottles will be cleaned during each complete cycle of operation of the machine. The cam 46 is so designed that for each revolution of the cam shaft 43, the pockets l5 are rocked twice; once clockwise, and once counterclockwise, so that at the end of the cycle the original set of bottles is returned to the conveyor l6 and the second set of bottles is cleaned and ready to be returned upon the start of a new cycle of operation.

Provision is made for stopping the machine when'the supply of bottles being fed in on the conveyor runs out and as herein shown a safety finger 24% is provided which is normally urged into the path of the bottles by a spring 242. The safety finger is mounted on a vertical stud 2G4 mounted on trunnion screws N5 supported in a bracket 2% mounted upon a bar 268 which is supported from the side rail 62 of the conveyor. Also mounted upon the vertical stud 2 54 is a collar 26'! provided with a cut-out portion 25L which is arranged to cooperate with a latch 2 39 mounted upon a rocker shaft 255. The rocker shaft 256 mounted in bearings 252, 254 is provided at one end with a mercury switch 255. Also mounted on the rocker shaft is an arm 258 which is arranged to rock the shaft clockwise, viewing Fig. 10, by its To this end, a.

own weight, when permitted to do so by the releasing of the latch 249. In operation when the supply of bottles is depleted the safety finger 2G3, normally resting against the sides of the incoming bottles, is urged into the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 9, thereby releasing the latch 2 29 from its normal position against the bottom of the collar 24'! into the cut-out portion 25! and permitting the rocker shaft 259 to be rocked to thereby open the circuit at the mercury switch 256. As diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1'7, the mercury switch 256 is connected in the circuit to the motor EST for driving the machine.

Provision is made for rendering the safety finger 248 inoperative during the time when the stop 12 is actuated to release the group of bottles, positioned between the stops [2 and i4, into the machine. For this purpose connections are made to the lever I98 which operates the stop 12, and as herein shown, a follower 26B loosely mounted on the shaft 28! is yieldingly urged against a raised portion $6 of the arm [$8 and adapted to engage the extended end of a lever 262 fixed to the end of the rocker shaft 258. When the stop lever 52 is operated to release a new set of bottles into the machine, the follower 260 is actuated to retain the rocker shaft in its normal position to prevent the machine from being stopped when the new set of bottles is being delivered into the machine. During this time, the safety finger 240 moves into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9. As soon as the stop member I4 is withdrawn to permit the new set of bottles to be introduced and the stop member I2 is again positioned in front of the incoming bottles, the rocker shaft is again free to be acted upon by the safety finger 240 and latch 249. As shown in Fig. 9, the follower member is yieldingly urged against the raised portion I99 of the stop lever m8 by a coil spring 264, one end of which is secured in a collar 263, fixed to the end of the rocker shaft 20!! and the other end in the follower member 266). The lever 262 is limited in its movement by a stop screw 264 mounted in the bracket 2% and the follower member 260 is held against the stop 2% while the rocker lever I98 continues in its movement. Provision is also made for limiting the movement of the latch collar 2M, and as herein shown, a stop screw 268, secured in the bracket 2T6 rests against a cut-out portion of the collar 241.

In operation when the supply of bottles is depleted the safety finger 24E! falls into the path of the bottles and'releases the latch 249 thereby permitting the rocker shaft to rock, and as herein shown, see Fig. 11, the arm 258 will be locked in its lowered position by a latch member 212 loosely supported on a stud 214 secured to the side rail 68 of the conveyor so that the machine will not be permitted to start until the supply of bottles is replenished and the latch 212 is manually remove-d to free the arm 258.

It will be noted that provision is made in the illustrated machine for adjusting the various mechanisms to accommodate different sizes and quantities of bottles. Thus, on the incoming end of the conveyor ill, the stop I2 is fixed but the bottle separating finger I l may be moved longitudinally along the shaft M2 and clamped into its adjusted position. Likewise, the detecting finger 24d and its associated mechanism maybe adjustably clamped anywhere along the bar 2-48 to accommodate the position of the last bottle in the roup. As hereinbefore stated, the air nozzles 10 are adjustably clamped to the supporting bar 74 and may be positioned along the bar into alignment with the bottles.

Briefly, the operation of the machine may be summarized as follows: A supply of bottles is fed into the machine on the conveyor Ii] up against a stop it and when the stop I2 is withdrawn a group of bottles corresponding to the number of bottles to be cleaned is released into the pocket 55. The pocket i5 isrotated degrees, inverting the set of bottles and placing them in cleaning position, and at the same time a second pocket is brought up into position to return a previously cleaned set of bottles to the conveyor and to receive a new set of bottles to be cleaned. The cleaning nozzles iii are now raised up into the bottles and a stream of air is injected to pneumatically clean the bottles, whereupon the nozzle are withdrawn and the pockets are again rotated 180 degrees to bring a new set of bottles into cleaning position and to bring the cleaned bottles up on the conveyor again. The stops 29, !2 are new actuated to release the cleaned set of bottles and topermit the new set of bottles to be brought into the pockets !5 to be cleaned during the next half cycle of operation of the machine. During the succeeding cycles two sets of bottles are cleaned for each complete revolution of the cam QB.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a container cleaning machine, in combination, a conveyor for transporting the containers into and from the machine in an upright and substantially vertical position, container cleaning means disposed beneath the conveyor, a stationary drum disposed between said conveyor and said container cleaning means, and means for transferring the containers around said drum from an upright position on the conveyor to an inverted position beneath the conve yor and in operative relation to the container cleaning means.

2. A receptacle cleaning machine, having in combination, conveyor means for conveying receptacles into and from the machine, a plurality of nozzles, rotary means for moving a plurality of receptacles from said conveyor and presenting them in operative relation to said nozzles, and means for separating the incoming receptacles into groups and for releasing said groups into the machine in timed relation to the operation of the rotary moving means and of the cleaning nozzles, said separating means comprising a stop finger adapted to hold back a line of receptacles, a second stop finger adapted to enter between two adjacent receptacles in the line to form a group and actuating means operatively connected to said stop fingers for releasing the group into said rotary moving means and for forming another group, and means for simultaneously releasing the previous group of cleaned receptacles from said rotary moving means.

3. A receptacle cleaning machine, having in combination, conveyor means for conveying receptacles into and from the machine in an upright and substantially vertical position, a plurality of cleaning nozzles, rotary means for moving a plurality of receptacles from said conveyor and presenting them in operative relation to said cleaning nozzles, said conveyor means compris ing an endless belt separate from and independent of said rotary means, means for separating the incoming receptacles into groups and for releasing said groups into the machine in timed relation to the operation of the rotary moving means and the cleaning nozzles,'and detecting means for detecting the absence of a receptacle from the group, said detecting means being operative to stop the machine when the absence of a bottle is detected.

4. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, a traveling conveyer extending continuously across said machine for conveying a line of receptacles in an upright position into and away from the machine, a plurality of cleaning nozzles disposed below the conveyer, means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles from their upright position on the conveyer transversely of the path of said conveyer and downwardly and into an inverted position, said means including a member for transversely sliding said plurality of receptacles from said conveyer, means for thereafter causing introduction of the cleaning nozzles into the inverted receptacles, means for pneumatically cleaning the inverted receptacles, and means for returning the cleaned receptacles from their inverted to their upright positions upon the conveyer to be conveyed thereby from the machine.

5. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, traveling conveying means extending continuously across said machine for conveying receptacles in an upright position into and away from the machine, pneumatically operating cleaning means, receptacle moving means for simultaneously moving a group of receptacles from their position on the conveying means in a direction transverse to the path of said conveying means into a difierent position and in operative relation to said pneumatic cleaning means, said receptacle moving means including a member for transversely sliding said group of receptacles from said conveying means, and means for returning the group of cleaned receptacles into upright position upon said conveying means while a succeeding group of receptacles is being moved into cleaning position.

6. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, receptacle cleaning means, conveying means arranged to convey receptacles in an upright position into and away from the machine, and receptacle moving means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles from said conveying means into operative relation to said cleaning means, and for subsequently returning the cleaned receptacles to said conveying means in an upright position, said receptacle moving means comprising unobstructed, open-ended pockets generally U-shaped in vertical, transverse cross-section, and stationary means arranged to form a closure for the ends of said pockets when the receptacle moving means has moved the receptacles from their normal upright position, said conveying means operating to feed containers into the machine and to discharge the same at substantially the same level.

7. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, a conveyer upon which receptacles are moved in an upright position into the machine, a stop member disposed transversely of said conveyer to position a group of receptacles, pneumatic cleaning means disposed at a lower level and mounted to be capable of adjustment into predetermined relation to said stop member whereby said pneumatic cleaning means may be aligned with receptacles of varying size, and receptacle moving means for simultaneously moving a plurality of containers from said conveyer into an inverted position in operative relation to said pneumatic cleaning means, and for simultaneously returning a plurality of cleaned receptacles to the conveyer.

8. A receptacle cleaning machine having, in

combination, conveying means for conveying receptacles in an upright position to and away from the machine, a plurality of cleaning nozzles, rotary means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles into operative position with relation to said cleaning nozzles, said rotary means comprising a plurality of radially extending receptacle supporting pockets circumferentially spaced apart, means for imparting intermittent rotary movement thereto, and a stationary supporting drum on the periphery of which the bottoms of said receptacles are engaged and supported during at least a part of the rotary movement of the receptacles and pockets.

9. A receptacle cleaning machine having, in combination, conveying means for conveying receptacles in an upright position into and from the machine, a plurality of cleaning nozzles, rotary means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles from their position upon said conveying means into an inverted position in operative relation to said cleaning nozzles, said rotary means comprising a plurality of pockets spaced apart for supporting different groups of receptacles, a stationary drum over which the receptacles ride during the rotary movement of the pockets and receptacles, and means for alternately rotating the pockets to present uncleaned receptacles into operative relation to said cleaning nozzles and to return previously cleaned receptacles to said conveying means to be conveyed from the machine, and means for supporting in alignment said receptacles with respect to said cleaning nozzles when the receptacles are in their inverted positions.

10. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, continuously traveling conveyer means for positively feeding a plurality of receptacles in an upright position into the machine, a plurality of circumferentially spaced open-bottom members for receiving and moving groups of receptacles fed by said conveyer means from an upright to an inverted position and back to the upright position, said receptacle moving members being positioned above the plane of said traveling conveying means when being loaded and unloaded, mens for controlling the movement of the receptacles by the traveling conveyer into said receptacle moving members, a plurality of cleaning nozzles disposed below said conveyer, and

means for intermittently moving said receptacle moving members to move a group of receptacles from an upright to an inverted cleaning position in one continuous movement and for simultaneously returning into operative position with respect to the conveyer means a previously cleaned group of receptacles, said control means operating to prevent conveyance of uncleaned receptacles by said continuously traveling conveyer means until the previously cleaned receptacles have been restored to operative position with respect to said conveyer means.

11. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, traveling conveying means for conveying receptacles in an upright position to and from the machine, a rotatable member having diai metrically extending pockets each provided with an open bottom and open ends adapted to normally be disposed in a vertical plane, said conveying means being arranged to feed receptacles into an open end of the uppermost pocket in an upright position and including a substantially horizontal run lying in a horizontal plane below the lowermost portion of said uppermost pocket, means for rotating said receptacle moving means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles from an upright position in the path of, travel of said conveying means into an inverted position in one continuous movement and for thereafter returning said receptacles from said inverted position to an upright position in another continuous movement, and means for pneumatically cleaning the receptacles while they are in the inverted position.

12. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, endless conveying means for conveying receptacles in an upright position to and from the machine, receptacle moving means comprising a rotatable, normally vertically disposed generally rectangular frame having transverse unobstructed pockets formed at the opposite ends thereof, each of said pockets being of a transverse length sufficient to receive a plurality of receptacles therein and extending parallel with the axis of rotation of said frame, said conveying means being arranged to supply a plurality of receptacles successively to said pockets and being disposed in a plane below the level of that of the lowermost portion of the upper of said pockets, means for rotating said frame and pockets for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles from an upright position into an inverted position in one continuous movement and from an inverted position to an upright position in another continuous movement, and means for pneumatically cleaning the receptacles while they are in the inverted position.

13. In a receptacle cleaning machine, in combination, rotatable receptacle supporting means for simultaneously moving a plurality of receptacles about a substantially horizontal axis from an upright position into an inverted position, conveying means comprising a belt for supplying unclean receptacles to and discharging cleaned receptacles from said receptacle supporting means in an upright position, said belt extending across said rotatable receptacle supporting means in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said receptacle supporting means, means for effecting rotary movement of said receptacle supporting means to remove the upright receptacles from said belt and to move the same from an upright to an inverted position in one continuous movement, means for pneumatically cleaning the receptacles while in their inverted position, and means for thereafter effecting a return of the cleaned receptacles to an upright position upon said belt in one continuous movement.

STANLEY R. HOWARD. 

